Google Assistant Lets You Request Money From Friends

Google Assistant now lets you request money from friends as part of the new functionality that was released this morning, so in the event that your friends owe you for that movie you saw the night before or for any other reason, you can simply ask Google to request money and give them the amount, and Google will send the request. This is all done through Google Pay so requests are free, and in addition to requesting money you can also ask Google to send money if you happen to be the person that needs pay someone back.

At the moment this only works with Google Assistant on phones but it will be compatible with speakers powered by Google Assistant, like Google Home or Google Home Mini, in the coming months so eventually you can initiate these commands even if you don't have your phone on you. For now this is a U.S.-only feature and there's no indication of when Google will roll it out to other regions. Google Assistant is available in other countries, but the feature merely uses Google Assistant as a vessel for sending and requesting the money, while the actual transaction happens with Google Pay, so for other regions to have this feature both Google Assistant and Google Pay will need to be accessible by users, and even then Google may have other things to work out before it's ready.

For users in the U.S. who have a Google Assistant-enabled device, once you ask to send or request money to or from a friend or family member or anyone else you know, the transfer happens "almost instantaneously" according to Google so there's little wait for the funds to appear, and recipients don't even have to have a Google Pay account, though it does help to have one set up as cashing out is a little bit easier. This feature is live now, so if you have money to request or send you'll be able to enlist Google's help.

Justin has written for Android Headlines since 2012 and currently adopts a Games Editor role with a specific focus on mobile gaming and game-streaming services. Prior to the move to Android Headlines Justin spent almost eight years working directly within the wireless industry. Contact him at [email protected]